War of the Warriors: Crystals of the Sky
by Lady Psychic
Summary: multigame crossover A mysterious comet drifts towards the planet and shatters into a million crystals. Now Auron must travel the world, make some friends, and gather the crystals before a group of villains get them first.
1. Night that the Crystals fell

_This is a multi-game crossover fanfic featuring many characters from many different games. At bottom of each chapter, I will tell which game that characters in each chapter come from._

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the videogames or videogame characters represented in this story_

**War of the Warriors: Crystals of the Sky**

**Chapter 1: Night that the Crystals fell**

It was a starry night as peace loomed over a grassy valley. A lone warrior named Auron had set up camp for the night. As he lay down on the grass, he gazed upon the starry sky. Suddenly, a mysterious object caught his eye. It appeared to be a comet of some sort, but something looked odd about it. Auron felt a strange power coming from the comet. He also noticed that it was drifting dangerously close to the planet.

As the comet came closer to the planet, it began to crack. Suddenly, it shattered into a thousand pieces and they began to fall upon the world. Auron was awed by the sight before him. It looked like a rain of light. Then, he saw one of the comet pieces fall near his campsite. Cautiously, Auron walked towards the fallen comet piece not knowing what to expect. He came across the small crater created by the comet piece and saw a mysterious crystal in it. Picking up the crystal, Auron examined it. "Could this really be part of that comet?" thought Auron. The crystal seemed to glow from within his hand and radiated a strange power. Whether this power was good or evil, Auron couldn't tell. Auron placed the crystal into his pocket and gazed upon the sky once again.

Meanwhile, in a village not too far from Auron's camp site, a girl named Talim woke from her sleep to see the spectacle from her window. Though she admitted that the sight was beautiful, she couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. The longer she thought about it, the more she remembered a prophecy told among her people from a long time ago. According to the prophecy, many crystals would one day fall from the sky. Each of these crystals contained a great amount of power that would tempt the greed of many warriors and start a war among them. If someone with an evil heart were to obtain too many of the crystals, it could spell doom for the world. However, the prophecy also said that there would be a small group of heroes who could save the world from the darkness caused by the crystals. "Could it be that the prophecy is coming true?" thought Talim. The girl jumped out of her bed and ran to wake the village elder. "Maybe he would know what to do", thought Talim.

Meanwhile, in a barren wasteland far away, a man dressed in black leather walked towards a crystal that he saw fall from the sky. He picked up the crystal and held it in his hand. He could sense a great power within the crystal. "Perhaps I can harness the power of this crystal", thought the man in black. He continued to stare at the crystal with his glowing, neon green eyes. He had to get more and figure out how to use their powers. Then the world would feel his wrath.

_Characters in this chapter: Auron (FFX), Talim (Soul Calibur 2)_

_As for the man in black, I won't reveal who he is or what game he comes from, yet. I will reveal this in a later chapter._


	2. The Quest Begins

_I'm sorry that the pervious chapter was short. I'll try to make future chapters such as this one longer. I will also include responses to reviews at the bottom._

_Disclaimer: I don't own any games or characters represented in this story._

**War of the Warriors: Crystals of the Sky**

**Chapter 2: The Quest Begins**

Auron woke up that morning will the images of the night before running through his head. He took the crystal out of his pocket and looked at it again. 'This is no ordinary crystal', thought Auron. Then his put it back in his pocket and started to clear out his campsite so he could continue with his travels.

He traveled through the valley for several hours before coming across a small village. It was as simple looking place that had houses made from straw and wood. 'I wonder if they have any sake here', thought Auron who looked at he empty sake jar. 'They probably don't but I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask.' As Auron continued towards the village, he noticed a teenage girl gathering water from a near by well. At first, the girl didn't seem to notice him, but as she caught at glimpse of Auron, she began to stare at him. She had a look of curiosity, but as she continued to stare, her expression changed. Slowly, the girl began to approach the warrior. 'I wonder what she wants?', thought Auron.

Talim remembered the fateful events of the past night. After the crystals fell from the sky, she woke up her uncle, the village chief. The chief was very disturbed by what his niece told him. He knew that this day would come, but he couldn't believe that it would happen in his lifetime.

That morning the chief told Talim that he had a vision about a warrior coming to the village. According to the vision, this warrior would play a large role in determining the fate of the world. However, the chief was not sure if this stranger was good or evil. If he was good then he may be one of the heroes from the prophecy, but if he was evil then he might use the crystal's powers to destroy the village. It was this thought which filled Talim's head throughout the day as she did her chores. As she went to the well to gather water, she wondered who this warrior was, what he would look like, and whether was on the side of good or evil. What Talim didn't know was that her questions would be answered very soon.

As she was gathering water, Talim noticed as mysterious stranger approaching the village. Upon further observation she realized he was a warrior. Suddenly, her uncle's vision popped into her head again and she became wary of the stranger. She also felt the presence of a crystal. 'He must be the one that uncle saw in his vision. I wonder why he is here. Is he going to destroy the village? He could be good, but I can't risk it', thought Talim. Fearing the safety of her village, Talim approached the warrior ready to defend her home.

"Tell me who you are and what you're doing here!" demanded Talim. "My name is Auron", replied the warrior "and who might you be?" "I am Talim, one of the warriors of this village", said the girl. "You look a little young to be a warrior", replied Auron. "I wouldn't underestimate me if I were you", snapped Talim, who pulled out the pair of tonfas that were strapped to her waist. "Now tell me why you have that crystal in your pocket and how you plan to use it!" Talim demanded.

Auron was stunned. "How did you know that I had a crystal?" asked Auron. "I could sense its power", replied Talim, who looked like she was about to fight. "What do you want from me?" asked Auron. Talim glared at him and replied "I want you to give me that crystal of yours and leave the village." "What if I refuse?" asked Auron. "Then I will have to take it by force", replied Talim.

Suddenly, Talim swung her tonfas at Auron, who stepped aside and dodged the attack. She attacked again, but Auron seemed to predict her actions and dodged her strikes. Frustrated, Talim jumped up and attempted to strike from the air, but Auron blocked her attack with his sword. As their weapons clashed, sparks began to fly and pressure began to build up. Suddenly, Talim lost her grip on her tonfas and they flew from her hands. Defenseless, Talim fell to the ground fearing the end.

Minutes went by and nothing happened. Talim looked up at Auron, who simply gave a gentle smile. Then, Auron pulled out the crystal from his pocket and dropped it in front of Talim. "If you want it so much then take it. I have no use for it", said Auron, who began to walk away from the village. Talim stared at the crystal that lay before her and began to think. 'He could have killed me but he didn't and he willingly gave up the crystal. I wonder if he is one the heroes from the prophecy?'

"Wait! Please don't go! I'm sorry that I attacked you", apologized Talim, who grabbed Auron by the arm and dragged him back towards the village. Auron looked at her even more confused than before. "Please come with me", said Talim as she led Auron to the chief's house.

"Uncle, I'm home. There is someone you should meet", said Talim when they reached the chief's hut. "Ah, I see. Welcome, brave warrior", said the chief as he examined Auron with great curiosity. "Uncle, is he one of the heroes from the prophecy?", asked Talim. "If he had the crystal but had desire to use it, then he very well could be", said the chief. "Prophecy? What are you talking about?", asked Auron. "Sit down brave warrior and I shall tell you everything you need to know" said the chief.

After the chief stooped talking, Auron began to let everything set in. 'So, the crystals have mysterious powers and a power struggle will erupt because of it. And I could be one of the people chosen to keep the crystals safe from evil hands. I just wanted some sake, but it looks like I've gotten myself into some sort of quest.' "Sir, what should I do now?", asked Auron. "Well, let's find out where the crystals landed first", said the chief as he grabbed a crystal ball from the shelf. The village chief stared at the ball for several minutes. "I have detected a crystal in the ruins south of here and another one at the town that is a days walk east", said the chief. The chief continued, "Sir Auron, you should leave this crystal here and go to the town east of us. I will send Talim and several others to secure the crystal in the southern ruins. When you secure the crystal in the town, please bring it back here." Auron nodded his head in acceptance of the mission; still not exactly sure of what he had gotten himself into.

After the chief gave him some food and supplies, Auron said goodbye to Talim and headed towards the town in the east. What Auron didn't know was that this seemingly simple fetch quest would turn into an epic journey that would change his life forever.

_Characters in this chapter: Auron (FFX), Talim (Soul Calibur 2)_

**Review Responses**

_SpartanComander: _I'm not too familiar with Halo characters, but I will try to add some if I can. As for Spiderman, I'm not quite sure if I can add him in but I will if I can. If I do add Halo characters or Spiderman, in will probably be much later in the story.


	3. To Catch a thief

_Disclaimer: I don't own any videogames or videogame characters in this story._

**War of the Warriors: Crystals of the Sky**

**Chapter 3: To Catch a Thief**

It was nighttime when Auron arrived at Jonin, the town east of Talim's village. Auron checked into an inn for the night. Tomorrow he would have to search the town for the crystal.

While the town was asleep, a ninja-like figure leapt from roof to roof, making its way towards a house. When then thief was on the roof of its target house, the thief climbed down to the window ledge. Using a pair of daggers, the thief cut a hole in the window and slipped into the house. Barely making a sound, the thief crept into the bedroom. There were several valuable necklaces and several rare coins lying around, but that was not was the thief was looking for. The thief felt a strange force coming from this place and was searching for the source of this energy.

Suddenly the woman sleeping in the bedroom woke up and saw the thief. She jumped out of bed and chased after the thief, but couldn't keep up. The thief ran towards the window and jumped out of it, shattering the glass into a thousand pieces. Although the thief was injured by this action, the ninja-like person just kept running until the thief could no longer be seen.

The next morning, Auron was walking towards the bar. He decided to have a drink or two and fill up his sake jar before beginning his search for the crystal. However, as he walked pass the police station; he overheard the conversation between an oddly dressed woman and a police officer who were standing outside.

"Please calm down Ms. Chun-Li and tell me what happened", said the officer to the woman. Still a little shaken, Chun-Li explained, "Well, I woke up last night and saw a stranger in my room! It was a woman with a large chest dressed in a tight fitting red outfit." "Did she steal anything?", asked the officer. "No, but she seemed to be looking for something", answered Chun-Li. "I'm sorry Ms. Chun-Li but there is nothing we can do", said the officer. "What do you mean there is nothing you can do! That thief broke into my house! What if she comes back?", shouted Chun-Li. "Well, you said she didn't take anything and she probably won't come back since you caught her in the act", replied the officer as he went back into the station. Chun-Li thought about what the officer said. Maybe he was right when he said that the woman wouldn't come back, but a voice in the back of Chun-Li mind told her otherwise. Chun-Li couldn't help but feel that the mysterious woman would return to claim whatever it was she was looking for.

Suddenly, Chun-Li felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see Auron standing behind her. "Sorry if I startled you, but I overheard your conversation. I know it's none of my business but I was wondering if I could help you", said Auron. Chun-Li thought about Auron's offer for a moment and turned back to him. "Well, since the police won't do anything about it, I guess I could use all the help I could get", said Chun-Li. "What's your name?", asked Chun-Li. "My name is Auron", replied Auron. "Nice to meet you. My name is Chun-Li", said the woman as she led Auron to her house.

"Well, it looks like you have plenty of stuff to steal. I'm surprised the thief didn't take anything", observed Auron as he looked at Chun-Li's necklaces and other valuables. He moved around the room he felt a strange but familiar energy pulling him towards a box. As he opened the box, Auron's eyes widened as he saw the crystal inside.

"Where did you find this?", asked Auron as he held the crystal in his hand. "Well," Chun-Li explained, "the other day a comet came near the planet and broke into a thousand pieces. It was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. Then, one of the pieces landed right outside of town. I went to where I saw it fall and found this crystal. I don't know much about it except it seems to have some sort of power." "Look, there are several things you should know about this crystal", said Auron as he began to tell Chun-Li everything he knew about the crystals.

"So, you think the thief was after this crystal?", asked Chun-Li, who was still shocked after hearing Auron's tale. "Most likely. I have feeling she will return", said Auron. "Auron," said Chun-Li, "I have a favor to ask you. Would you please stay the night just in case she comes back? If you do, I will give you the crystal." Auron nodded his head in agreement.

That night, Chun-Li was sleeping in her bed while Auron was sitting on the floor keeping watch for anything suspicious. Suddenly, Auron heard a noise and began to hear quited footsteps heading towards the bedroom. As the footsteps became closer, Auron closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. Auron slowly opened his eyes and saw a black-haired woman wearing a tight fitting red suit. She appeared to be searching for something, most likely the crystal. She turned around when she heard a voice say "Who are you?" and found herself face to face with around. "I'm Taki and I won't let anyone get in my way", said the woman as she pulled out a pair of daggers. "What's going on?", said Chun-Li, who woke up from the commotion. Before Auron could stop her, Taki ran towards Chun-Li, grabbed her from behind, and held a dagger to her throat.

"I sense a great power here. Give it to me or I will kill her," demanded Taki. Auron slowly when towards the box and took out the crystal. "Is this what you're looking for?" asked Auron as he held up the crystal. Taki stared at the crystal and sense the power emanating from it. "Yes, it is. Now give it to me", demanded Taki.

Meanwhile, Chun-Li was trying to escape from Taki's grasp. When Taki switched her focus to Auron, Chun-Li realized her opportunity. Suddenly, Chun-Li elbowed Taki and, while Taki was caught off-guard, Chun-Li grabbed Taki and threw her across the room. Taki got up, grabbed her daggers, and lunged at Chun-Li, only to have her attack blocked by Auron. Taki stepped back and lunged at Auron but was attacked from the side by Chun-Li. Before Taki could regain her composure, Chun-Li kicked her in the stomach. Infuriated, Taki lunged at Chun-Li again, but Chun-Li kicked one of the daggers out of Taki's hands. Taki's guard was down long enough for Chun-Li to grab her. Using all of her strength, Chun-Li threw Taki onto the floor hard enough to knock Taki out. By the time Taki regained consciousness, she found herself in jail.

The next day, Auron was about to leave Jonin when Chun-Li stopped him. "Hey! Did you forget something?", said Chun-Li as she held out the crystal. "Thanks, I almost forgot about that", replied Auron who held out his hand so she could give him the crystal. However, instead of giving Auron the crystal, Chun-Li smiled and said, "Actually, I was wandering if I could travel with you? It's usually boring in this town and I always wanted to travel the world. I promise I won't get in the way." Auron was a little shocked by Chun-Li's request. 'Well, at least she can take care of herself', thought Auron as he remembered the events of last night. Auron was used to traveling alone, but he decided he could use some companionship. "Alright, you can come", said Auron.

As Auron and Chun-Li began to walk out of the town, Auron noticed a familiar looking girl coming towards them. As the girl came closer, Auron recognized her as Talim. "Sir Auron!", shouted Talim as she ran towards him. "Talim, what are you doing here?", asked Auron. Talim smiled and said, "Well, after you left the village, my uncle sent me and several others to the ruins in the south. We searched the ruins until we found the crystal. A few of the villagers stayed there to guard the crystal, but my uncle told me to come here to check your progress. So, who's your friend?" "Talim this is Chun-Li. She will be traveling with me," explained Auron. "Nice to meet you", said Talim as she shook Chun-Li's hand. Then Talim turned back to Auron and asked "Did you find the crystal?" Chun-Li took out the crystal and showed it to Talim. "That's good. Let's head back to my village", said Talim.

So Auron, Talim, and Chun-Li began the journey back to Talim's village. What they did not know was that someone else had already beaten them there.

_Characters in this chapter: Auron (FFX), Talim (Soul Calibur 2), Taki (Soul Calibur 2), and Chun-Li (Street Fighter series)_

**Review Responces**

_SpartanCommander: _Thanks for the information. I still haven't decided if I will use the Halo characters in my story. If I do, it will be much later it the story.


	4. Man with the Glowing Green Eyes

_First off, I would like to warn everyone that there will be character death through out the story. However, I am not planning on it being overly graphic and most of the deaths will either be generic characters (characters that don't have names) or minor characters. If I do kill of a major character it will probably much later in the story. As I said, they will not be overly graphic scenes and I will keep the rating at PG-13 for now. However, if anyone feels that I am getting too violent, just let me know in the reviews and I will change the rating._

_Disclaimer: I do not own any videogames or their characters._

**War of the Warriors: Crystals of the Sky**

**Chapter 4: Man with the Glowing Green Eyes**

Auron, Talim, and Chun-Li were traveling across the valley towards Talim's village. As they walked closer to the village, the sky began to darken. However, they knew that it would be past sunset by the time they arrived at the village, so the group dismissed the darkening sky as the passage of time. Yet, Auron couldn't help but notice an ominous, dark cloud hovering above the area where the village was. Auron continued to stare at the cloud and felt a terrible presence in that direction.

Talim, however, didn't seem to notice the dark cloud nor the Auron's slightly worried expression. She was happily walking towards her home with some friends to accompany her. "Sir Auron, my uncle has prepared a great feast for you in celebration of your return", said Talim. Auron simply kept a calm face as he focused on the path ahead. "What food will be at this feast?", asked Chun-Li, who was starting to get hungry. "Well," Talim answered, "there will be wild boar and some vegetables that my village grew. Actually, I'm not quite sure exactly what my uncle will cook." "Your uncle is doing the cooking?", asked Chun-Li. "Yes, he is. Believe it or not, he actually a really good cook", answered Talim with a smile on her face.

"So tell me Talim, what exactly is your relationship with your uncle? You two seem to be very close from what I have heard", said Chun-Li. "Well," began Talim, "both of my parents died in an accident when I was very young. Because my uncle was the only living relative that I had left, he took me in and raised me as if I was his own child. It must have been very difficult raising me and doing his duties as the village chief at the same time. However, he never seemed to mind taking care of me. He was always so kind and gentle."

Talim, Auron, and Chun-Li continued to walk until they suddenly saw Talim's village in the distance. However, something was terribly wrong. A large cloud of smoke was coming from the village. Although Talim's uncle would probably cook the food by fire, the smoke was too big to be caused by a simple campfire. As fear overcame Talim, she found herself in an all out sprint towards the village, and Auron and Chun-Li could barely keep up with her.

When Talim arrived at the outskirts of the village, she collapsed to her knees in horror. Her entire village was an inferno! Auron and Chun-Li caught up with Talim to see the horrific sight themselves. Chun-Li clamped her hands in front of her mouth as she stared at the flames in disbelief. Meanwhile, Auron slowly walked towards Talim and placed his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "I'm sorry, Talim", said Auron in a calm, yet saddened voice. Talim did not reply but sat silently as tears began to roll down her cheek. After keeping silent for a few minutes Auron spoke, "Well, maybe we should see if there are any survivors." Talim waited a moment before getting up to her feet and replying, "Yes, your right. If there are any survivors, we should help them."

Talim, Auron, and Chun-Li wandered through the burning village desperately searching for survivors, but the village seemed totally lifeless and empty. Sudden they noticed a body nearby. As Talim approached the body, she realized that it was the village chief. "Uncle! Uncle! Can you hear me!" , screamed Talim. The village chief slowly opened his eyes and asked, "Talim, is that you?" The village chief was still alive but barely. He had countless wounds an injuries and could barely move. "Uncle, please tell me what happened. Why is the village in flames?", asked Talim.

It took a few minutes before the village chief could answer Talim. "Well," began the chief, "I was beginning preparations for the feast when a stranger suddenly appeared. Then, he started to kill the villagers and used his magic to set the village on fire." "What did the stranger look like?", asked Talim. The chief was reluctant to speak at first for fear of his niece's safety. After further thought, the chief replied, "He was a tall man with dark clothing. I'm not sure if it was black or another dark color. I remember he had long hair but I can't remember what color it was. However, one thing I do remember is his eyes. He had unnaturally green eyes that seemed to glow." The village chief heard Auron approach and turned his head to face Auron. "I'm sorry Sir Auron, but I couldn't protect the crystal. The green-eyed man stole it. I tried to stop him, but I was no match for him. I last saw him heading for the southern ruins", explained the chief.

Suddenly, the village chief gasped for air. "Uncle, please don't speak. Everything is going to be okay. Just hang on until we can get some help", said Talim. The chief looked at Talim and smiled weakly. "Talim," began the chief, "I don't think I can take care of you anymore. I think my time has come." "No! Don't say that!", cried Talim. "Talim, I want you to travel with Auron and help him find the crystals", said the chief. "Okay, I will", said Talim with tears rolling down her cheeks. The village chief smiled again at Talim before he suddenly became limp. "Uncle! Please don't leave me!", screamed Talim. It was no use since the spirit of her uncle had already left his body.

Talim sat near her uncle's body, crying her heart out for several minutes. Suddenly, she noticed that Auron was beginning to leave the village. "Where are you going, Auron?" asked Chun-Li, who was standing nearby. Auron replied, "The chief said that the man was going to the southern ruins. He is probably after the crystal that is being guarded there." Talim suddenly stood up and said, "I'm going too!" Auron looked at Talim and replied, "No, you should stay here. You are not in the right state of mind to fight." Talim opened her mouth to object but she couldn't find the words to say. Then, Auron turned to Chun-Li and said, "You should say here and watch over Talim." "What! Are you going to fight that green-eyed man by yourself?", asked Chun-Li. Auron simply nodded and continued to walk out of the village.

As Chun-Li and Talim watched Auron head towards the ruins, they couldn't help but be worried about Auron's safety. "I hope Auron will be okay", said Talim in a concerned tone. "I'm sure Auron can take care of himself", replied Chun-Li, who wasn't willing to admit that she was also worried about Auron. "I know that Auron is a skilled warrior, but he might end of fighting the man who massacred my entire village", said Talim. "Well, you have a point. Auron shouldn't have to face that monster all by himself," said Chun-Li. "I don't care what Auron says," said Talim, "I going to follow him!" Chun-Li looked at Talim and said, "I'm coming with you." With that agreement, the two women chased after Auron.

Meanwhile, Auron was crossing the valley towards the ruins in the south. While he was walking, Auron looked at the nigh sky which was normally filled with stars. However, the sky was filled with clouds and was completely starless. Auron felt that this was a bad omen of sorts, but he still pressed on despite the danger ahead of him. As Auron continued forward, he eventually came upon the entrance to the forest that led to the ruins. Auron walked into the forest wondering if the reason why it was so dark was because of the night or if it was the evil presence that lay within it.

Suddenly, Auron heard several footsteps running towards him, and he turned around to see Talim and Chun-Li catching up to him. Auron frowned and asked, "Why did you follow me? Didn't I tell you two to stay near the village?" "I'm sorry Sir Auron, but I couldn't stand the thought of loosing you on the same night I lost my uncle", replied Talim. "She's right," added Chun-Li, "we couldn't let you face this madman alone and risk you getting killed." "Please let us come with you!", begged Talim. Auron thought about what the two women said for a few minutes before saying, "Alright, you two can come, but if things get too dangerous, I want you go back where it is safe. Do you understand?" Talim and Chun-Li nodded their heads in agreement and they followed Auron deep into the heart of the forest.

Eventually, they came upon the ancient ruins within the forest. There were ancient carvings and vines on the walls of the old temple. As Auron, Talim, and Chun-Li climbed the stairs to the top of the temple, they noticed the lifeless bodies of the guards assigned to protect the crystal found within the ruins. At the top of the temple, the three heroes noticed a mysterious stranger standing at the center of the floor with his back turned to them. He was wearing a black outfit and had long, silvery hair. He also had long sword, a masamune to be exact, strapped to his waist. As Auron and the others slowly approached the man, he turned to face them and they caught a glimpse of his eyes. The man's eyes were an unusual shade of green and looked as if they glowed. 'This must be the man who destroyed Talim's village', thought Auron. "Who are you, and are you the one who destroyed the nearby village?", asked Auron. The green-eyed man stared at Auron with an evil smirk on his face and replied, "My name is Sephiroth, and if you are talking about that village just north of here…" Sephiroth suddenly stopped mid-sentence and began to laugh an evil laugh.

Talim could no longer hold back her anger and began to run towards Sephiroth. "Stop Talim!", shouted Auron, but Talim ignored his warning. She took out her tonfas and lunged at Sephiroth with all of her might. However, he effortlessly dodged Talim's attack, and with the hilt of his sword, hit her in the back of the head. Talim fell to the ground unconscious due to Sephiroth's counter attack. Sephiroth pointed the masamune at Talim, but his attempt to finish Talim off was blocked by Auron's sword. "Leave her out of this. Your fight is with me now," shouted Auron. Sephiroth aimed his sword at Auron and charged at him. Using precise timing, Auron managed to block Sephiroth's attack. Then Auron swung his sword at Sephiroth, but Sephiroth used his speed to avoid Auron's attack. Before Auron could realize it, Sephiroth was behind him and attempted to stab Auron in the back. However, Auron managed to turn around just in time in order to block Sephiroth's attack.

Meanwhile, Chun-Li was watching the battle play out in front of her. Auron was very skilled, but Sephiroth was too fast. Although Auron was holding his own for now, Chun-Li knew that he wouldn't last too much longer. 'I have to find a way to help Auron, but if I get in his way it would only make things worse. I must catch Sephiroth off guard', thought Chun-Li. She watched Auron and Sephiroth attack, dodge, and block each other. Suddenly, Auron slashed at Sephiroth, only for Sephiroth to duck below the sword and counter before Auron could react. A large surge of pain overcame Auron, and he looked down to see a huge gash on his side. Sephiroth stared at Auron and smiled an evil smirk as he slowly raised his sword in order to deal the final blow. He was so focused on Auron that he didn't notice Chun-Li running towards him. Chun-Li caught Sephiroth off guard and kicked him in the side with all of her strength. The force of the attack caused Sephiroth to step backwards a little. 'Surely that attack did some damage', thought Chun-Li, but she soon realized that Sephiroth was barely fazed at all. In an act of desperation, Chun-Li ran towards Sephiroth and attempted to throw a punch at him. However, Sephiroth dodged the attack and shot a powerful beam of magic out of his hand. The magic blast caused Chun-Li to skid across the floor and she came to a stop near the edge of the temple. She lied on the floor unconscious. Sephiroth slowly walked towards the helpless Chun-Li while Auron limped towards Sephiroth in a feeble attempt to stop him.

Suddenly, something caught Sephiroth's eye. Sephiroth reached down to pick up the crystal that Chun-Li had apparently dropped while she had skidded across the temple's top. "Another crystal to add to my collection," said Sephiroth. "Your collection?", asked Auron. In response to Auron's remark, Sephiroth took out three more crystals out of his pocket. Auron knew that Sephiroth had at least one or two crystals, but he didn't know Sephiroth had so many. Sephiroth slipped the crystals back into his pocket and turned his attention back to Auron.

Auron had come to the realization that he didn't stand a chance against Sephiroth. Sephiroth was too fast and powerful. However, Auron would not give up. He would fight to the bitter end with what strength he had left. Still, Auron wished that it wouldn't end this way. Auron's life began to flash before his eyes as Sephiroth crept closer with the masamune in his hand.

_Characters in this chapter: Auron (FFX), Chun-Li (Street Fighter series), Talim (Soul Calibur 2), Sephiroth (FFVII)_

**Review Responses**

_SpartanCommander:_ I didn't realize that I was leaving too much information out between paragraphs. I will try to keep this to a minimum. Anyways, I'm glad that you seem to like this story.


	5. A New Ally

_Disclaimer: I do not own any videogame characters._

**War of the Warriors: Crystals of the Sky**

**Chapter 5: A New Ally**

Auron watched as Sephiroth crept closer and closer to him. The masamune began to rise in Sephiroth's hand. Sephiroth's glowing green eyes glared an icy look of death as they stared straight at Auron. Auron tried to get into a defensive position but was overwhelmed with pain from his wounds. Auron wouldn't go down without a fight but he knew that this could very well be his last battle. However, his own death was not what Auron was really afraid of. Auron knew that after Sephiroth finished him off, he would probably kill Talim and Chun-Li as well. Both of them were still unconscious and could not defend themselves. Even Auron could barely defend himself, but he still had to try.

Sephiroth was now within striking distance of Auron and effortlessly swung his sword. The attack was so slow that, despite his injuries, Auron could block it with relative ease. Sephiroth followed the slow attack with a quicker one that gave a small cut on Auron's arm. Then, Sephiroth stared at Auron with an evil smirk on his face. Auron knew that Sephiroth was toying with him and had been toying with him during the entire battle. It was like a cat toying with a mouse before killing it. In this case, Sephiroth was the cat and Auron was the mouse.

Suddenly, Sephiroth's evil smirk faded and was replaced with a much more serious expression. Sephiroth had grown tired of playing with Auron and had decided to end this once and for all. Sephiroth changed his stance and adjusted his masamune. Auron noticed the change in stance and prepared to make one last stand. 'This is it', thought Auron to himself as he took in what he thought would be his last moments. Sephiroth glared at Auron again as he was about to unleash the finishing blow; yet, he stopped when he heard a voice call out "Sephiroth!"

Both Auron and Sephiroth turned around at the sound of the voice to see a man with spiky, blonde hair with a ridiculously large sword on his back. The blonde-haired man suddenly grabbed his sword and pointed it directly at Sephiroth. Sephiroth had an evil smirk on his face again as he said, "So, we meet again, Cloud." "Sephiroth, you will pay for everything you've done!" shouted Cloud. Suddenly, Cloud and Sephiroth charged at each other. Cloud swung at Sephiroth with all of his might but Sephiroth nimbly dodged the attack. Then, Sephiroth slashed at Cloud, but his attack was blocked by Cloud's sword.

Meanwhile, Auron decided to take advantage of Sephiroth and Cloud's fight. Reaching into his pocket, Auron pulled out a hi-potion and healed himself. He then watched the fight between Cloud and Sephiroth unfold before him. Cloud was holding his own against Sephiroth, using his massive sword as shield to block Sephiroth's strikes. However, that same sword slowed Cloud down and gave Sephiroth the opportunity to dodge Cloud's attacks. 'That young man, Cloud, seems to be talented, but Sephiroth seems to have the advantage in experience and speed', thought Auron. At the swords of Cloud and Sephiroth continued to clash with each other, Auron decided to think of a plan to help Cloud. 'At least Sephiroth is distracted', thought Auron as he slowly walked towards Chun-Li. Once he reached Chun-Li, he took out a phoenix-down and revived her.

"What happened?" asked Chun-Li, who was still weak and groggy after being revived. Auron said nothing but stared at her, and then he switched his gaze to the two fighting men. Chun-Li stared at what Auron was looking at and gasped. "What going on? Who's that blond-haired man fighting Sephiroth?" asked Chun-Li. "Well," explained Auron, "the blond-haired man apparently knows Sephiroth somehow. I overheard Sephiroth call him Cloud. If it wasn't for him, we would all be dead by now." "Shouldn't we help him?" asked Chun-Li. "Yes," said Auron, "but we need to wait for the right moment first. If we catch Sephiroth off guard, we might have a chance to beat him."

Chun-Li nodded in agreement as they began to approach Talim, who was still unconscious. Chun-Li and Auron walked slowly towards Talim, careful not to attract the attention of Sephiroth. Fortunately, Sephiroth was too busy fighting Cloud to notice, and the sound of clanging swords covered up their foot steps. When Auron and Chun-Li reached Talim, Auron took out another phoenix-down and revived her. Talim opened her eyes and was about to speak when Auron motioned her to keep quiet. Then, Auron, Talim, and Chun-Li watched the battle between Cloud and Sephiroth while looking for an opportunity to catch Sephiroth off guard.

Cloud and Sephiroth had been fighting each other for quite some time now, and it was beginning to take its toll on them. Both were beginning to get tired but neither of them wanted to give up. They continued to swing their swords and dodge and guard each other's attacks. Suddenly, Cloud jumped up to slash Sephiroth horizontally, but Sephiroth blocked the attack and held his sword in a way that it applied pressure to Cloud's sword. As the pressure built up, Cloud began to loose his grip on his sword until it suddenly flew out of his hands and landed a few feet behind him. Before Cloud could react he felt Sephiroth's sword resting near his neck. "Looks like I won, Cloud", said Sephiroth with an evil smirk on his face. Sephiroth was about to go for the kill when he thought he heard footsteps behind him. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain from his back and turned around to see Auron, Chun-Li, and Talim behind him. 'How did they recover so quickly?' thought Sephiroth, who realized that one of them had wounded him. Sephiroth looked back at Cloud who had used the distraction to his advantage and regained his sword. Then, Auron, Chun-Li, Talim, and Cloud began to close in on Sephiroth.

'This could be a problem', thought Sephiroth as the four other warriors closed in on him. 'I probably could take on all four of them,' thought Sephiroth, 'but this wound on my back isn't helping me. Oh well, I already got what I came for.' Sephiroth took out a crystal and used it to create a bright light that instantly blinded the others. Then he took out another crystal and used the two crystals to create a portal to make his escape. By the time Auron, Cloud, and the others regained their sight, Sephiroth and the portal he stepped into had both disappeared.

"Darn it!" shouted Cloud as he tried to regain his sight. As Cloud, Auron, Talim, and Chun-Li regained their sight, they all realized that Sephiroth was gone. "Sephiroth, you coward! I will find you, and you won't escape next time", shouted Cloud. As Cloud continued to shout, Chun-Li realized she no longer had the crystal that she carried. "What happened to my crystal?", asked Chun-Li. "You dropped it and Sephiroth took it", answered Auron. "Oh no! That means Sephiroth has three crystals", said Talim. "Four", corrected Auron. "Excuse me, but what are you talking about? What are the crystals?" asked Cloud, who had overheard the conversation. "Well," explained Auron, "these crystals fell from the sky several days ago and they each contain a strange power within them. We are trying to gather them up before someone like Sephiroth gets a hold of them and unleashes chaos upon the world." "Yes," said Talim, "but so far we are not doing a very good job. We just found three of them, only for them all to be stolen by Sephiroth." Suddenly, memories of her village and her uncle flooded back to Talim, and she could not stop a tear from falling down her cheek.

After she dried the tears from her eyes, Talim turned back to Cloud and asked, "So, who are you?" "My name is Cloud Strife", answered Cloud. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Cloud. My name is Talim, that woman over there is Chun-Li, and that man over there is Auron", replied Talim. "So tell me, Cloud. How do you know Sephiroth?" asked Auron. "Let's just say that he took everything that I loved away from me and leave it at that", said Cloud, who obviously didn't want to talk about it. Auron just nodded his head and said nothing more.

"Well, what do we do now?" asked Chun-Li. "Before we leave, we should bury the ones who were guarding this place", said Talim with a somber look on her face. Everyone agreed and, with Cloud using his sword as a shovel, they buried the guards. "Well, perhaps we should try to find the rest of the crystals", said Auron, after they laid the guards to rest. "How do we find the rest of crystals?" asked Chun-Li. "Well," suggested Talim, "I could try to use my uncle's crystal ball to locate the crystals. I just hope it wasn't burned in the fire." "Fire?" asked Cloud. "Yes, my village was burned down in a fire caused by Sephiroth", explained Talim. 'That sounds like when he burned down my hometown', thought Cloud to himself. "Mr. Cloud, would you please come to my village and help us bury the villagers", asked Talim. Cloud really didn't want to go, but when he looked into Talim's eyes, he couldn't refuse and agreed to go with them. Everybody paid their last respects to the fallen guards, and they left the ruins and headed towards Talim's village.

A short time later, they arrived at what was left of Talim's village. The fire had burnt itself out and not a single building was left standing. All that was left was ash and rubble. They searched the remains of the village and gathered what few bodies they could fine. Talim wondered why so many villagers had disappeared and thought, 'Maybe some of the villagers managed to escape. Then again, their bodies may have been incinerated by the fire.' Talim hoped that the former was true instead of the latter; yet, if the former were true the villagers would have probably return by now. Since Auron, Talim, Chun-Li, and Cloud were the only ones in the village, the hope they had about villagers managing to escape was beginning to fade. As they continued to search for bodies, they eventually came to the body of the slain village chief. Although Talim had accepted the fact that her uncle was dead, it still didn't make it any easier to see him lifeless. Still, she held back her tears and turned to Auron to ask if they could bury her uncle first. Auron nodded his head in agreement and gently rested his hand on Talim's shoulder to comfort her. Then Cloud took his sword and used it as a shovel to dig a grave for the village chief. After the chief was given a proper burial, Cloud made graves for the few villagers he could find.

When the dead were all buried, Talim stood by her uncle's grave for several minutes. She could no longer hold back her tears and allowed them to roll down her cheek and drop to the ground. As Chun-Li watched Talim, she began to remember memories from her past. 'This reminds me of when my father was killed', thought Chun-Li.

After mourning for her uncle, Talim walked towards where her uncle's house was and started searching for the crystal ball. After digging through the rumble for several minutes, Talim finally found the crystal ball. Although it was dirty, it was otherwise unharmed by the fire. Talim held up the crystal ball to the three others and said, "With this crystal ball, I might be able to locate the crystals. Unfortunately, I've never used this before, so I might have to practice for a while." "Well, if it is alright with everybody, I think we should go back to Jonin and stay there until we can get some sort of plan", suggested Chun-Li. Auron replied, "I guess we could do that." "Okay, but let me visit my uncle one last time before we leave", said Talim as she went back to her uncle's grave to pay her last respects.

Meanwhile, Cloud approached Auron and said, "I was wondering if I could travel with you. After all, your group is going after the crystals, right? Since Sephiroth is also looking for the crystals, there is a good chance you will run into him again." Auron took a few minutes to think about Cloud's offer. 'Well, we could use all the help we can get', thought Auron. "Alright, you can come", said Auron.

After paying last respect to her uncle and the rest of the villagers, Talim walked towards the rest of her group who were gathered by the edge of where her village used to be. "Are you ready?" asked Auron. "Yes, I am", answered Talim. Then she looked at Cloud and asked, "Are you coming with us, Mr. Cloud?" "Yes", answered Cloud. "Alright everybody, let's go", said Chun-Li, and the group began to walk towards the town of Jonin.

_Characters in this chapter: Auron (FFX), Talim (Soul Caliber 2), Chun-Li (Street fighter series), Cloud (FFVII), Sephiroth (FFVII)_

**Review Responses**

_SpartanCommander: _Thank for that idea on how to add Spiderman to the story. I think I will add him, but it will still be a while. I'm glad that you are enjoying the story. Also, I am not planning on having too many cliff hangers, just one every couple of chapters.


	6. The Son of Sparda

_Sorry it's been taking me a little longer than usual to make this chapter. I been busy but I'm going to try to update more often._

_Disclaimer: I don't own any games or video game characters_

**War of the Warriors: Crystals of the Sky**

**Chapter 6: The Son of Sparda**

Auron and his companions were still walking towards Jonin when the sun began to rise. The trip from what was left of Talim's village was a quiet one. Although Auron never was much of a talkative person, Talim and Chun-Li were much quieter than usual. Cloud was also being very silent as well. Of course, given the situation, silence was to be expected. Talim was still mourning the loss of her uncle and the entire village. Chun-Li was still shocked from the events of that night. Cloud seemed to be remembering things from his past. Auron wanted to know more about Cloud's past and his connection to Sephiroth, but Auron didn't dare say anything or demand an explanation. After all, Auron had just met Cloud, and Cloud didn't seem to want to talk about his past. Now that Auron thought about it, he really didn't really know anything about Chun-Li's past. The only one whose past he knew a little about was Talim, and he only knew what he overheard from Talim and Chun-Li's conversation earlier. Still, Auron wasn't about to force his companions to tell him about their past until they were ready to tell him themselves. Besides, they knew nothing about Auron's past either.

As they continued walking, Cloud was the first to break the silence. "So, who was it that injured Sephiroth back there?" asked Cloud. Talim turn to Cloud and with a forced smiled on her face, replied, "It was Sir Auron. He saw that Sephiroth was distracted and stabbed him in the back with his sword." "Hey look! We're almost there", interrupted Chun-Li as Jonin suddenly appeared in the distance.

When the group finally reached Jonin, they walked down the street until they came to Chun-Li's house. They planned to stay there until they came up with some sort of plan. It wasn't a very big house since it only had one master bedroom and one guest bedroom, as well as a small living room. The group eventually agreed that Chun-Li would sleep in the master bedroom, Talim would sleep in the guest bedroom, Cloud would sleep on the couch in the living room, and Auron would sleep on the floor. After the sleeping arrangements were made, everyone decided to take a nap since none of them had any sleep the previous night.

A few hours later, Chun-Li woke up. She decided to go buy some groceries since she currently didn't have enough food for everyone. While she was gone, Auron and Cloud woke up. Auron went to the living room and asked "Where is Chun-Li?" Cloud shrugged and they both looked around until they noticed a note. "What does it say", asked Cloud. "It seem Chun-Li went out to buy some groceries", replied Auron. "She should have waked one of us up to go with her. It's too dangerous for her to be by herself", said Cloud in a concerned tone. "I wouldn't worry, Cloud", replied Auron. "Chun-Li is a tough girl and can take care of herself," said Auron, "and who knows how long she has lived here." "I guess your right, but what if Sephiroth shows up?" asked Cloud. "I doubt he will", replied Auron. Cloud shrugged and said, "Well, I wouldn't put it past him." Suddenly, Auron and Cloud heard a voice cry out "Uncle!" from the guest room.

"Talim, are you okay?" asked Auron. "Yes, I'm fine", said Talim, "I just had a dream. Then again, it may have been something more." "What do you mean", inquired Auron. "Well," began Talim, "in my dream, my uncle came to me and said that we would soon meet the sons of Sparda. My uncle told me that they both would become involved in the fight over the crystals, and one will become our ally while the other will become our foe." "Sparda? What are you talking about?" asked Cloud. "You never heard of the legend of Sparda?" asked Talim. Cloud shook his head no.

Suddenly, the main door opened and Chun-Li came in carrying two large bags filled with groceries. When she noticed the commotion from the guest room, she placed the grocery bags on the living room table and went to the guest room to see what was going on. "Hey guys, I just got back from the store. What's going on?" asked Chun-Li. "Talim had a dream, maybe even a premonition", replied Auron. "Yeah, she said something about the sons of Sparda, but I don't know what the heck she is talking about", said Cloud. The word Sparda rang like a bell in Chun-Li's ear. "I heard about Sparda," said Chun-Li, "My parents used to tell me that story when I was a child. Unfortunately, it has been many years since I last heard that story so I don't remember all of the details." "I do", said Talim, "because my uncle told me that story all the time. According to the legend, demons used to inhabit our world and waged war against the humans. However, there was a demon named Sparda who defended the humans from the other demons. Ultimately, he sealed all of the demons away including himself. However, the legends say that he left behind twin half-demon, half-human sons. Unfortunately, I do not know their names."

"So, you're saying that we are going to meet the sons of this legendary demon guy?" asked Cloud. "Yes, very soon", confirmed Talim, as she grabbed the crystal ball from the desk in the room. "What are you doing?" asked Chun-Li. "Well," said Talim, "I'm going to try to locate the crystals. My uncle said that each of the sons of Sparda would find at least one of the crystals." "So, you're saying that if we find the crystals, we might find Sparda's sons" said Auron. "Yes, now please be quiet so I can concentrate", replied Talim.

For about a minute or two, no one made a sound as Talim went into a trance. Suddenly, Talim came out of her trance and looked up at the others. "What did you see?" asked Auron. Talim looked at Auron and said, "I saw man with a crystal. I don't know if he is one of the sons of Sparda or not, but whoever it is will arrive at this town any moment from now." "What! You're saying that there is a possibility that one of the sons of Sparda might be here!" asked a shocked Cloud. "Yes," answered Talim, "there is a possibility that it might be one of the twins, but I can not tell for sure." "What did he look like?", asked Auron. "Well, the vision was a little fuzzy, but it looked like he was wearing red and had white hair," said Talim. "I think we should find this guy. Even if he is not one of Sparda's sons, we still need that crystal", suggested Auron. Everyone else agreed.

"Alright," said Auron, "we should split up. I will look at the west part of town. Cloud, you should search the east part of town. Chun-Li should search the north side, and Talim should search the south side." "Hey, maybe we should alert the police", suggested Cloud. "No," said Chun-Li, "the police won't help. Besides, they are probably too busy looking for Taki." "What are you talking about? Who's Taki?" asked Cloud. Auron lowered his glasses and gave Chun-Li a questioning look. Noticing the confused faces of the others, Chun-Li explained, "Taki was a ninja woman who broke into my house to steal a crystal. Auron and I managed to subdue her long enough for the police to take her to prison. However, on my way to the grocery store, I overheard some officers talking. Apparently Taki somehow escaped from her jail cell." "Do you think that Taki will come after you?" asked Cloud. "Well," began Chun-Li but she was interrupted by Auron. "I doubt she will. It's too risky for her, and we no longer have the crystal so there in nothing in it for her." "Yeah, I guess you're right", agreed Chun-Li. "Anyways, we should concentrate on finding the guy in Talim's vision", suggested Auron. Everyone agreed and left the house in separate directions.

Auron began his search in the western part of Jonin. At that time of the day, the sun was beginning to set and there were few people on the streets. Suddenly, Auron noticed a peculiar looking man walking in the streets. He wore a red leather jacket and dark brown pants. The mysterious man also white hair and carried a sword on his back. As Auron walked up closer to the man, he could sense the power of a crystal radiating off of him. 'This must be the guy from Talim's vision', thought Auron. Then another thought came to Auron's mind, 'I wonder if he is one of Sparda's sons. If so, which one is he? Is he the one who will help us, or…'

Before Auron could finish what he was thinking, the man suddenly stopped. "Are you going to follow me all day", said the mysterious man without even turning around. After a moment of silence, Auron finally replied, "I was wondering if you are one of Sparda's sons?" The man turned around and his pale blue eyes glared at Auron.. "Did Vergil send you?" asked the man. Auron gave the a questioning look and asked "Who?" The man stared at Auron curiously and asked "If Vergil didn't send you to kill me then why did you ask me if Sparda was my father?" Auron remained quiet. "What's wrong gramps? Did the cat get your toungue?" the man taunted. "I have my reasons", replied Auron. "Is that so?" said the white-haired man. "Well then, if you really want to know who I am follow me", said the white-haired man as he turned around and headed out of town, with Auron following close behind him.

After Auron and the mysterious man walked a short distance away from Jonin, the stranger turned around and said, "Before I tell you anything, I want you to answer a few questions." Auron nodded in response. "First off, who are you anyways?" asked the stranger. "My name is Auron", replied Auron in a calm voice. "So tell me Auron, did Vergil send you to find me and/or kill me? Do you even know who Vergil is?" asked the stranger. "No, I have no idea who you are talking about", answered Auron. The man stared at Auron for a few minutes before saying, "Well, either you're a really good liar or you're actually telling me the truth. If what you say is true, then why were you following me? Better yet, why do you care if Sparda is my father anyways?" After a moment of silence, Auron replied, "A friend of mine had a vision about the son's of Sparda. She also saw a vision about a crystal." "A crystal, eh? Like this one?" asked the man as he pulled out a crystal from his pocket. Auron nodded in confirmation. Then Auron replied, "Now that I've answered your questions, I have some questions for you. Who are you? Are you Sparda's son? Although, judging from your reaction earlier, I would guess yes." The mysterious man smirked and replied, "You're pretty observant, old man. The name's Dante and yes, Sparda was my father. Are you happy now?"

Auron just kept silent and stared at the crystal in Dante's hand. Dante noticed this and said, "I see that you want this. Personally, I think it's just a rock that just so happens to have mystic powers or whatever. But if you really want this piece of junk, you will have to earn it." "Earn it?" Auron asked even though he knew deep down what Dante meant and began to reach for his sword. Dante just smirked and replied, "Yeah, I've been kind of bored lately. I could use a challenge. So, let's start this party already!"

Suddenly, Dante charged at Auron and jumped up into the air. While in mid-air Dante took out his pistols, Ebony and Ivory, and began shoot at Auron. However, Auron kept calm and skillfully dodged the bullets. When Dante landed back on the ground, he stepped back and began shooing at Auron again. This time Auron used his sword as a shield and reflected the bullets back at Dante. Dante, however, saw Auron's plan and jumped up to avoid the reflected bullets. As gravity forced Dante back down, he putted his guns back up and grabbed his sword. Once on the ground, Dante charged at Auron with his sword, only for the attack to be blocked by Auron. Auron then countered with a thrust of his sword, which was evaded by Dante's sudden jump in which Dante landed on top of Auron's sword. While standing on Auron's weapon, Dante stared down at Auron before quickly jumping off and landing behind Auron. Then Dante attempted to stab Auron in the back, but Auron turned and blocked the attack at the last moment. After a few more attempted attacks at each other, the two men realized that they were in a stalemate.

Suddenly, Dante putted his sword away. Then he dropped the crystal at Auron's feet and said, "Not bad, old man. You gave me the exercise I needed. Here, take the piece of junk. You earned it. 'Till we meet again, gramps." Auron bent down to pick up the crystal. By the time he looked back up, Dante was already in the distance. At first, Auron thought about going after him but quickly changed his mind. There was no way that Auron could catch up with Dante, and Auron had a feeling that this would not be the last time they would meet.

_Characters in this chapter: Auron (FFX), Cloud (FFVII), Talim (Soul Calibur 2), Chun-Li (Street Fighter series), Dante (Devil May Cry 3)_

**Review Responces**

_SpartanCommander- _I have some ideas of my own on how to add Halo to the mix, but I'm still open to any suggestions that you may have. Then I will decide which ideas flow better with the story. As far as the confusion over what happened to Sephiroth in the last chapter, I clarified it in the beginning of this chapter (2nd paragraph to be exact).

_GameVeteran69- _Cool, another Auron fan. Anyways, thanks for the suggestions. Actually, it was in my original plan to add Dante in this chapter. As for the Prince of Persia and Mortal Kombat and Tekken characters, I may or may not add them to this story. If I do, they will probably only have cameo appearances. However, let's just wait and see as this story develops. I may change my mind. After all, Talim originally was going to have a small part in the story, but things changed and she became a major character.


	7. Demons in a Castle

_Well, it's been a while since I've updated this. I've been busy with another fanfic of mine called **Nightmares and Phenomenon**. I've also been reading fanfics much more often than writing them and have gone through a little bit of a writers block. However, I will try to update this at least once per month (hopefully even more often than that). Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. For some reason I had a hard time writing this chapter though I'm not quite sure why._

_Disclaimer: I don't own any videogames or videogame characters represented in this fanfic._

**War of the Warriors: Crystals of the Sky**

**Chapter 7: Demons in a Castle**

Auron walked back towards the town of Jonin after his battle with the mysterious man, Dante. As Auron walked further into town, he began to think about what happened and what may happen in the future. Was Dante the one who would help them in the future? Or was he the one who they would fight against? Although Auron wasn't quite sure at that time, he had a feeling that Dante would be on their side. After all, Dante willingly gave him the crystal. Auron didn't think a potential foe would do that. Then Auron remembered what Dante said about a man named Vergil. Who was this Vergil? Obviously, Dante and Vergil were enemies since Dante thought that Auron was sent by Vergil to kill Dante. Whoever this Vergil was, Auron had a feeling that he and the others would soon find out, especially if Dante became their ally.

As Auron continued to walk, he heard someone shout "Auron!" and saw Talim, Chun-Li, and Cloud heading towards him. "Hey Auron, did you find anything?" asked Chun-Li. Auron nodded his head and replied "Yes, I found one of Sparda's sons." His three companions looked at him with a stunned expression on their faces. "What! You met one of them? Where?" inquired Chun-Li. "I saw him walking around the western part of town and he challenged me to a duel", replied Auron. "What!" asked both Chun-Li and Talim at the same time. "So, if you fought him then that means that he's one that will fight against us, right?" asked Cloud. Auron shook his head and showed the others the crystal as he explained, "Not exactly. In fact, he willingly gave me this. I think he will be with us, not against us." "Still, we should keep our guard up around that guy," said Cloud. "Of course," agreed Auron, "even I am not quite sure of his intentions; however, I don't think he's after the crystals." "Yes, if he were interested in the crystals then he probably wouldn't have given one to Auron", agreed Talim. Cloud still have had somewhat skeptical look on his face, but before he could reply, Chun-Li cut into the conversation and said, "Well, it's getting late. We should go back to the house and get some sleep so we can go crystal hunting tomorrow." Everyone agreed and they went back to Chun-Li's home.

After they arrived back at Chun-Li's house, Cloud putted his sword away and lied back on the couch while Chun-Li went back to her room to get some sleep. Talim, however, was wide awake and was peering into the crystal ball in her lap. Auron, who passing by her room, stepped inside and asked, "Did you see anything?" Talim quickly looked at Auron before gazing back down at the ball and said, "Well, it's fuzzy but I see some sort of abandoned castle. I think there is a crystal there." "Do you think it's anywhere near by?" asked Auron. Talim looked back up at Auron and replied, "To tell you the truth, I have no idea. I've never been very far from my village before. When I was little, I used to dream about traveling the world, but my uncle wouldn't let me go very far." Suddenly, a sad look crossed Talim's face, and she looked down as her eyes began to fill with tears. Auron decided that it might be a good idea to leave Talim alone for awhile and began to leave. As he came to the door, he looked back at Talim and said in a somewhat comforting voice, "If you need to talk, I will listen." "That's okay. I'll be fine", replied Talim as she looked back up again and forced a smile. Auron nodded and quietly shut the door as he left the room.

Meanwhile, not too far away from Jonin, there was a campsite several yards away from the ruins of a large, abandoned castle. Sleeping near the campfire was a certain female ninja dressed in a tight fitting red outfit. As the moon went down and the sun replaced it, the morning rays hit Taki in the face and woke her up. Although she wouldn't admit it, she needed a nice long rest to heal from the injuries she attained from fighting Chun-Li. Escaping had also taken its toll on Taki, and she needed a break fighting and stealing things. However, her break would not last long since she was still searching for crystals and had sensed one from the nearby castle. After a few minutes of waking up and stretching, Taki put out her campfire and grabbed her daggers. Taki walked towards the castle until she noticed a strange figure walking into it. It was too far away for her to get a good look at whoever it was, but there was something about the figure that made her uneasy. Taki waited for a few minutes before cautiously following the figure into the castle ruins.

At the same time, Auron and the others were waking up and preparing for the day's crystal hunt. Talim was already dressed and eating breakfast when Chun-Li sat on the other side of the dinning room table. "Have you looked into your crystal ball yet?" asked Chun-Li. Talim stopped eating for a few seconds and replied, "Yes, I looked at it last night. Do know if there are any castles nearby?" "Actually, there's an abandoned castle about 5 miles north from the town", answered Chun-Li. "Really? That's great!" exclaimed Talim, who had finished eating and was cleaning out her bowl in the kitchen sink. After she was done, Talim and Chun-Li went into the living room where Auron and Cloud were waiting. Cloud still looked half-asleep, but Auron seemed to be fully awake. "So, where are we going?" asked Auron. "We are going to a nearby castle", replied Chun-Li. "Yeah, I think it might be the one I saw from my vision," added Talim. "Good, let's go", said Auron, who opened the door and began to leave. Talim and Chun-Li quickly followed while Cloud trailed behind.

For a while they walked northward until they came upon the abandoned castle ruins. "Talim, is this the castle you saw in your vision", asked Auron. Talim looked at the castle carefully before replying, "Yes, that's the one." "Alright, let's go", said Cloud as he headed toward the castle followed closely by Chun-Li, Auron, and Talim. As they came closer to the castle, Talim suddenly stopped walking. Auron was the first one to notice Talim's hesitation, and he turned around and asked her, "What is it?" Upon hearing Auron's voice, Cloud and Chun-Li turned around to see what the matter was. Realizing that Auron had asked her a question, Talim replied, "I feel an ill wind coming from there." "Huh? I don't feel anything", said Cloud with a somewhat confused look on his face. Chun-Li appeared equally puzzled. Auron, however, closed his eye and went into a somewhat meditative state. When he opened his eye a few minutes later, Auron stated, "Talim's right. There is some sort of force besides the crystal." "Well, whatever it is we can take it", said Cloud as he grabbed his sword from his back. "Perhaps, but we still must use caution", warned Auron as the group cautiously entered the castle ruins.

As Auron and the others entered the castle, they found themselves in a large hallway with a strip of long red carpet that had been faded and torn over the years. The hallway was also very dark and dusty. Cloud grabbed a nearby torch that he felt on the wall and lit it using a fire spell. With some light to guide them, the group walked down the hallway. As they were walking, Auron noticed some footprints ahead of them that were made by the dust. 'Footprints that are not ours', thought Auron to himself.

At the end of the hallway, the group opened a creaky, old door that led to a large room. There was a door at the right side of the room and another door at the left side of the room. In the middle of the room was a large spiral staircase that led upstairs. What the group noticed immediately after they entered the room was that there were several lit torches and candles scattered around the room. "Someone's here", said Auron out loud to the rest of his group. Suddenly, they heard a creaking sound coming from the rafters and a slender figure dived down from the shadows. It was a figure that both Auron and Chun-Li recognized.

"Taki!" shouted Auron has he grabbed his sword in preparation for battle. Taki grabbed her daggers but made no move to attack Auron or his companions. Chun-Li glared at Taki and got into her fighting pose. Talim and Cloud just stood around in bewilderment. "So, I take it that you came for the crystal", said Chun-Li to Taki. "Of course", answered Taki, "and you came here for that reason as well." "Ha! I bet you're the evil force that Talim and Auron sensed", accused Chun-Li. Talim stared at Taki for a few moments before shaking her head and saying, "No, that woman isn't the force I sensed." Chun-Li still look skeptical, even as Taki explained, "How perceptive, young one. Someone or something else had beaten me here. Perhaps that was the evil you sensed."

Before anyone could respond to Taki's explanation, strange portals appeared seemingly from out of nowhere. Out of each one crawled weird cloaked creatures that carried scythes in their hands. The creatures' faces looked as if they were screaming. "What the hell are those things!" exclaimed Cloud as the creatures came closer. Taki got into a fighting position and said one word: "Demons!"

Suddenly, the demons quickly swooped down. One of the demons swung its scythe at Talim and would've cut her in half had she not ducked down at the last moment. Talim saw her chance and knocked the demon into the air with her tonfas. While the demon was still in the air, Talim kicked it so hard that it slammed against the wall and landed on the ground unconscious.

Meanwhile, Chun-Li was busy dodging attacks from another demon. The demon was fast but Chun-Li was also quick on her feet. Noticing a quick lapse in its guard, Chun-Li jumped up and kicked it in face. While the demon was stunned by the kick, Chun-Li kicked it about 100 times with lightning fast speed and then grabbed it by the neck and pummeled it into the ground.

At the same time, Taki ran up the wall to dodge an attack from the demon she was fighting. When she landed back on the ground, she was caught in the demon's surprise attack and received a cut on her leg. Taki looked down at her wound then looked back up and gave the demon a death glare. "You will pay for that", said Taki as she charged full speed at the demon. The demon swung its scythe at her, but Taki avoided the attack by jumping high into the air. Then, she stroked down the demon with her daggers. When it tried to get back up again, Taki kicked it into a wooden table which broke into several pieces upon impact before jumping up and striking again to deliver the final blow.

Auron and Cloud were busy fighting demons as well. With a single swing of his sword, Cloud slung several demons into the air and the ground. Auron, on the other hand, had skillfully avoided a demon's attacks. Although the demon was much faster, Auron had skill and experience on his side. A one second lapse in the demon's defense was all that Auron needed to deal a fatal blow. After defeating the demon, Auron looked back at Cloud, who was battling another group of demons. Cloud was now fighting five demons by himself, which was more than he could handle. To make things worse, the demons had gotten smart and were avoiding and blocking Cloud's swings. Then, one of the demons snuck behind Cloud and attempted to stab him in the back. Auron noticed this and yelled "Behind you!" just in time that Cloud turned around and managed to block the demon's attack. The other demons tried to take advantage of the situation, but Auron entered the fray and disposed of the demons before they knew what hit them.

After all the demons were slain or knocked unconscious, Auron and the others gathered together to discuss what their plan was. Well, almost all the others had gathered. Taki, however, was nowhere to be seen. "I knew we couldn't trust her", said Chun-Li in an accusatory tone. Auron just shook his head and said, "Look, we have more to think about than Taki's motives." Talim nodded in agreement and added, "Yes, we must find the crystal. I have a terrible feeling that something or someone with dark intentions may find it. That is if it hasn't already been found." "I agree that something is up," observed Cloud, "since all of these demons are running around." Chun-Li sighed, "I guess you're right."

"Alright," announced Auron, "we need to find the crystal as fast as possible. In order to do that we should split up. Chun-Li and Talim, you two go look at the door in the right. Cloud, go check the door to the left. I'll climb up the stairs." Talim, Chun-Li, and Cloud nodded their heads in agreement and did as Auron told them. Meanwhile, Auron made his way up the spiral staircase to check the upstairs area.

A few minutes after Auron and his companions separated, a certain white-haired man in a red trench coat had arrived at the castle. Upon entering the room where Auron and the others were fighting demons, Dante had noticed numerous demon corpses littered throughout the room. "Looks like I missed the party," observed Dante as he walked around the room. Suddenly, a demon that wasn't dead but merely knocked unconscious came to and began to charge at Dante. However, Dante heard it coming and turned around and shot the demon several times until it dropped the ground. With a cocky smirk on his face, Dante thought, 'Then again, maybe the party has only just begun!'

_Characters in this Chapter: Auron (FFX), Cloud (FFVII), Chun-Li (Street Fighter series), Talim (Soul Calibur 2), Taki (Soul Calibur 2), Dante (DMC3). Also, the demons were based on the ones Dante fought in the beginning of DMC3. I don't own any of them, any other characters mentioned, and anything else that came from any of the games._

_(A/N)Normally, I would have the review responses listed here, but I have heard that they recently made a new rule that you can no longer respond to reviews. I don't want to risk getting into trouble so unless they remove this rule, I will no longer have review responses listed here. Still, I urge whoever reads this to please review anyways. If you have any ideas or suggestions of characters to add to my story, feel free to say so in your reviews. However, I do urge you all to limit your suggestions to video game characters since this fic is going to be really complicated as it is. Also, I cannot guarantee that I will incorporate all suggestions into my story nor can I guarantee that they will have a large part in it. I might add them if I can find a way to make they fit into the story line. Also, suggestions on how to make this story better are also greatly appreciated. Finally, if you think that this fic is getting too violent, please let me know and I will raise the rating. Thank you to all who have reviewed this or any of my other fanfics. _


	8. The Other Son of Sparda

_Well, it's been awhile since I last updated this. Sorry for he long wait, but I've been very busy at college and had been working on a few other fics as well. I haven't had time to contact whoever is in charge of this site, and I've heard conflicting information concerning review responses. I heard someone got in trouble for responding to reviews and few people said that review responses in chapters are no longer allowed. However, I've read the guidelines several times and haven't seen any rule like thaton there. Still, just to be on the safe side, I will no longer post review responses. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to any videogames, elements from video games, and videogame characters. They belong to whoever created/published them._

**War of the Warriors: Crystals of the Sky**

**Chapter 8: The Other Son of Sparda**

Auron had climbed up the stairs and walked down a dark hallway on the 2nd floor of the castle ruins. Eventually, he came upon a large, empty room. In the ceiling, there was a small hole that looked like something slammed through it. There was a dent in the floor below the hole as if something had crash landed on it. Studying the dent was Taki, who raised her head to glare at Auron when he entered the room. After glaring at Auron for a few minutes, she looked back at the dent and muttered, "A crystal had landed here on this very spot. Unfortunately, it seems that we were too late." Taki's cryptic words reflected the obvious to Auron. Someone or something had beaten them to the crystal.

Suddenly, a couple of soft footsteps approached the room from a different hall. Normal people wouldn't have been able to hear them, but experienced warriors like Auron and Taki could. "It seems as if we are not alone", whispered Taki. Then, a door on the opposite side of the hallway slowly opened and made a creaking sound as it did. From behind the door came a mysterious man dressed in blue. There was something strange about the figure, and he seemed to have a somewhat demonic aura.

As the man in blue slowly walked towards the light, Auron was somewhat shocked (although he didn't show it) at what he saw. The strange man looked almost exactly like Dante! The only differences between the man and Dante were that the man wore blue while Dante wore red and that the man wore his hair straight up while Dante had his hair down. Also, Auron noticed that the man seemed to be colder and more serious than Dante. Still, Auron had a feeling that the similarities between the two were more than just a coincidence. 'Could he be Dante's brother?' thought Auron. It was certainly a possibility. After all, Talim did say that they would meet both of the Sparda brothers.

The man in blue stopped a few feet from Auron and Taki. That was when Auron noticed something shiny in the man's hands. He didn't get a good look at it but he had a feeling that it was indeed a crystal. Apparently, the man noticed Auron's gaze for he opened up his hand revealing the crystal. "So, I take it that you two are after this as well", said the man as he began to glare at Auron and Taki. Auron silently nodded in conformation while Taki glared at the man and got in a battle position. The mysterious man continued to glare and said, "Foolish humans! Do you even have the slightest idea how much power is within this crystal. Scum like you don't deserve such power."

Auron grabbed his sword. It seemed as if a fight was inevitable. However, Taki walked past Auron and muttered, "Stay back, I will fight him." Then, she suddenly charged right at the man in blue.

In a blur, she grabbed her daggers in mid run and jumped into the air to strike down the mysterious foe. However, the man in blue quickly dodged the attack and began to counter. After seeing the attack coming, Taki quickly rolled across the ground to avoid the mysterious man's sword. Then, Taki ran from her foe to the nearest wall and ran up it. Taki ran across the wall for quite a while as the man in blue chased her before she suddenly jumped off and kicked the man in the face while in mid-air. The man in blue seemed slightly stunned for a few seconds but quickly regained his composure and acted as if nothing had happened. In fact, he didn't seem fazed in the least.

Taki growled in frustration but continued to attack. She lunged towards the man in blue but he side-stepped the attack and quickly ran behind her. He then attempted to attack her from behind, but Taki preformed a back flip and landed behind him. Then she tried to attack the man from behind, but he turned at the last moment and blocked the attack with his sword. For a few moments, they faced each other in a stand off until the man in blue said, "Let's end this." "I agree," replied Taki. Suddenly, they both charged at each other at the same time. Their weapons moved so fast that they were practically streaks in the air. For a few seconds time stood still. Then Taki was suddenly overcome with pain and fell to the ground.

The man in blue pointed his sword right at Taki and was about to make one final charge at her when Auron shouted, "Leave her alone! Your fight is with me now!" "Are you sure that you want to end your life so quickly?" asked the man in blue. "I won't let you spill anymore blood," replied Auron as he braced himself for the upcoming fight. "So be it," said the mysterious man as he prepared to charge at Auron. However, as the man began to run towards Auron, a gun shot rang out. A single bullet just barely missed the mysterious man. Both Auron and the mysterious man turned their heads to where the shot came from, only to see…..Dante!

"Sorry gramps, but I can't let you have all the fun," said Dante. "So, we meet again, Dante," muttered the man in blue. "Yeah, nice to see you too, Vergil", replied Dante in a sarcastic tone. 'So, this is the man that Dante told me about,' thought Auron. "What are you up to now, Vergil?" asked Dante. Vergil snickered and replied, "Wouldn't you like to know, Dante. In any case, it seems we have unfinished business." Then, Vergil quickly drew his sword. "I agree, so let's get this over with", said Dante as he drew his own sword.

In an instant, the two brothers were locked in a fast paced battle. Auron, who was watching the fight, could barely keep up with what was happening. Both Dante and Vergil's attacks were lightening fast. For several minutes, they dueled across the room. They continued to match each other stride for stride, blocking or sidestepping each others attacks. Then, Dante jumped high into the air and replaced his sword with his two pistols. While still in the air, Dante unleashed several bullets towards Vergil. However, Vergil swung his sword just as the bullets were about to hit and managed to reflect them back towards Dante. As Dante began to fall towards the floor, he noticed the bullets coming back towards him and began to twist in the air in an effort to avoid them. A few of the bullets barely missed him, while one of the bullets slightly grazed his arm, but other that that Dante landed relatively unscathed.

The two brothers glared at each other in a stand off for a brief moment. However, before they could start fighting again, a door opened. "Auron, are you ok? We heard gunshots", shouted a voice. Auron and the Sparda brothers turned towards the voice to see Talim, Chun-Li, and Cloud enter the room. "Auron, what's going on?" asked Chun-Li. Cloud, who suspected that they may have to fight, grabbed his oversized sword and glared at the Sparda brothers. Talim gasped when she got a good look at the two nearly identical men in the room and though, "Those two look familiar. Are they the ones I have seen in my dreams and visions? Could they be the sons of Sparda?"

When the strange group of people entered the room, Dante was temporarily distracted from his fight. 'Who are they? What are they doing here?" he thought to himself. It wasn't until the guy with the spiky blond hair said "Hey, where are you going!" that Dante turned his attention back to his brother. He turned his head just in time to see Vergil walk towards the end of the room and activate some sort of portal by using a crystal. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" asked Dante. Vergil turned his head, glared at Dante, and said, "This isn't over, Dante. We will finish this some other time." Then Vergil entered the portal. Dante ran to the other side of the room in an attempt to stop Vergil, but the portal was already gone by the time he got there.

"So, what is going on? Who are those guys?" asked Cloud, looking very confused. Talim and Chun-Li looked confused as well. Auron sighed and replied, "The one you see before you is Dante. The one who just left was Vergil. Apparently, they don't get along very well." "Sir Auron, are they the sons of Sparda?" asked Talim. Before Auron could answer, Dante cut in and said, "Yeah, Sparda was my old man." Talim turned to Dante and said, "Your name is Dante, right? Well, I'm Talim. It's nice to meet you." "And my name is Chun-Li", said Chun-Li. "The name is Cloud", said Cloud, who gave Dante a suspicious glare. However, Dante ignored Cloud's glare.

"Hey, did you find Taki?" asked Chun-Li to Auron. Auron looked over to where Taki had clasped on the ground, only to find nothing but a small trail of blood that led to another door. Auron followed the blood the door and opened it to find a stairway. When he got to the end of the stairs, Auron opened another door that led outside. Suddenly, Auron felt someone tap on his shoulder, and he turned around to see Chun-Li. "Is something wrong?" asked Chun-Li. "It seems that she has escaped," replied Auron.

After walking for some distance, Taki looked back at the castle in the horizon. She had sneaked away while Auron was watching Dante and Vergil fight each other. The wound that she had sustained from Vergil was still painful, but Taki would survive. She had experienced far worse injuries in her lifetime. 'Farewell Auron, for now. Perhaps our paths shall cross again', thought Taki.

Meanwhile, Auron was explaining everything that had happened to Talim, Chun-Li, and Cloud. "So, let me get this straight. Not only is Sephiroth after the crystals, but now this Vergil guy is after them too", said Cloud. Auron nodded in conformation. "This is just great", said Cloud sarcastically. Then Auron turned to Dante, who was starting to look bored. "So, are you going to join us?" asked Auron. Dante replied, "I might as well. I don't have anything better to do. Besides, if Vergil is looking for the same crystals you're looking for them it will be more likely to find him." "So, why do you hate your brother so much, Dante?" asked Talim. Dante sighed and answered, "That's a long story, kid. Maybe I'll tell you when you're older." Talim gave him an angry look and shouted, "I'm not a kid! I'm 15 years old!" "Whatever", muttered Dante. To stop any potential fights from breaking out, Chun-Li interrupted and said, "Well, let's go back to town to rest and stock up on supplies. Then, we will leave tomorrow to search for more crystals." Everyone agreed and they began to head back to Jonin.

In a forest far away from our heroes, Vergil sat on a rock near a small pond while thinking about recent events. He wasn't someone who usually ran from his battles but he also knew better than to fight an entire group by himself. Besides, Vergil had gotten what he was looking for. Sure, he could handle Dante on a 1 on 1 situation, and one day they would end their feud once and for all. However, if Dante made some sort of alliance with that group of people then things would get much more complicated.

Suddenly, Vergil heard the rustle of leaves and saw something move within the shadows of the trees. "Who's there! Show yourself!" shouted Vergil. "There is nothing to worry about, Vergil, one of the Sparda twins", said a smooth, deep voice. Vergil looked at where the voice had come from but all he saw was a pair of glowing green eyes. "How did you know who I am?" asked Vergil. "I have done my research, plus I've been watching you", said the voice. That last remark slightly unnerved Vergil. "Who are you?" asked Vergil.

The owner of the voice stepped forward and revealed himself to be a man dressed in black with long, silver hair. Then, the man spoke, "My name is Sephiroth, and I have a proposal for you." "What kind of proposal?" asked Vergil. Sephiroth replied, "I want you to join forces with me." "I'm not interested", said Vergil. "What if I told you that those people you fought with happen to be my foes as well?" asked Sephiroth. Vergil raised an eyebrow. "How did you know about that!" asked Vergil. Sephiroth replied, "Let me show you", and he took out two crystals and placed them on the ground. Sephiroth taped into the crystals' powers and went into a trance for a few seconds. The crystals began to glow brightly and a hologram suddenly appeared. It was an image of Auron and the others. "I have found a way to used to crystals to see what is going on throughout the world," explained Sephiroth.

Vergil began to reconsider Sephiroth's proposal. Sephiroth seemed to know a lot about the crystals, or at least more than Vergil did. If he was careful, Vergil could use Sephiroth to his advantage. "Alright, I accept your proposal, for now", said Vergil. What Vergil didn't know was that Sephiroth had plans of his own.

_Characters in this chapter: Auron (FFX), Talim (Soul Caliber series), Taki (Soul Caliber series), Chun-Li (Street fighter series), Cloud (FF7), Serphiroth (FF7), Dante (DMC3), Vergil (DMC3)_


	9. A Hero's Quest and A Dark Alliance

_Before this next chapter begins, I have a few announcements. First off, starting with this chapter I shall respond to your reviews via e-mail if you give me your e-mail address or have it available for me to see. If you don't won't me to respond to your review then tell me in your review or don't give me your address. Now a few of you suggested that I have more than 2 groups in my story. Well, it was already in my plans to make several different factions. Some of these factions are friends to Auron's group, while others are foes, and some are a little bit of both (like Taki). These other factions shall form over the course of the story. However, you won't be introduced to one of these other factions until another chapter or two. Until then, I will be focusing mainly on Auron's group and Sephiroth's group. I would also like to thank everyone for the suggestions. I cannot guarantee that I will use all of them, but I will definitely put in some more Street Fighter characters and I have been thinking on adding Kratos (from God of War) as well (although it's still not set in stone that he will appear). I shall also add more of my favorite characters and games to the mix as well._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to any video games or characters and elements from the games. They are owned by whoever created/published them._

**War of the Warriors: Crystals of the Sky**

**Chapter 9: A Hero's Quest and a Dark Alliance**

By the time Auron's group got back to Jonin, they were all quite tired. Chun-Li stopped by the shops to grab some items for their journey while the rest of the group went back to her house to get some shuteye. During Chun-Li's shopping spree she bought a couple of tents, a bunch of potions, several revives, cures for various ailments, and a bunch of other stuff she thought was useful. When she got back to her house, she found that everyone else was already asleep. She quietly placed the items she bought on the counter and decided to go to bed herself. However, as she approached her room, she heard loud snoring coming behind her door. When she opened her door, Chun-Li almost gasped at the sight of Dante, fully clothed, sleeping on her bed. 'I knew I should have told him not to sleep in this room', thought Chun-Li. 'Still, I wonder why no one else told him.'

Chun-Li had to admit that the sight of Dante sleeping on her bed was rather amusing. After all, he was cuddling his guns as he slept. 'I wonder if he always sleeps with them', wondered Chun-Li. Still, as amusing as the sight was, he was sleeping on her bed and had to get off. First, Chun-Li gently tapped Dante on the shoulder. When that didn't work, she poked him harder. Dante continued to sleep on. Getting frustrated, Chun-Li kicked the bed fairly hard, but Dante still didn't wake up. Finally, Chun-Li grabbed the sheets and pulled them so hard that it caused Dante to fall completely off of the bed.

The moment Dante touched the ground, he snapped awake, grabbed his guns, and pointed them straight at Chun-Li. "Don't shoot!" shouted a shocked Chun-Li, who had her hands raised into the air. Dante glared at Chun-Li for a few moments before slowly lowering his guns. "Hey lady, can't a guy get some sleep?" asked Dante in an annoyed tone. "I'm sorry, but you were sleeping on my bed", explained Chun-Li. "Well, I was here first. Why don't you go sleep in another bed," replied Dante. Chun-Li flushed red with anger and yelled, "First of all, there aren't any more beds! Also, you forget that this is MY house that you are staying at and that this MY room!" "So, where am I supposed to sleep at?" asked Dante. "Simple, you can sleep on the floor like Auron", replied Chun-Li. "Hell no!", replied Dante, "I'm not sleeping on the floor. I've been sleeping on the ground for so long that I almost forgot what a bed feels like." "Well, you're still not sleeping on my bed", said Chun-Li.

"Hey, I got an idea", said another voice. Dante and Chun-Li turned to see Talim standing near the door. "Oh, did we wake you up Talim?" asked Chun-Li apologetically. Talim just smiled and replied, "That's okay. I was already up. Anyways, Dante can sleep in my room if he wants to." "But where will you sleep?" asked Chun-Li. "Actually, I think I will walk around town for awhile", answered Talim. Chun-Li looked at a near by window and noticed that the sun was beginning to set. "It's starting to get dark. Are sure that you want to walk around town alone?" asked Chun-Li. Talim retorted, "I'm not a little kid. I can take care of myself." Before Chun-Li could say anything else, Talim walked out of the room and out of the house.

Talim walked slowly down the streets of Jonin. She was telling the truth when she said that Chun-Li's and Dante's yelling didn't wake her up. The truth was that she had waked up from a dream. Talim barely remembered the dream but she felt that she had to be somewhere. That was why she was walking around town. Talim didn't know who or what she was supposed to be looking for, but she knew that the winds of destiny had something in store for her.

As Talim came near the edge of the town, something suddenly caught her eye. In the distance, a horse was running towards the town. When the horse came closer, Talim noticed that there was a man dressed in strange green clothes riding it. Suddenly, the horse stopped a few meters from Talim, and she walked towards it to get a better look. Talim soon noticed that the rider of the horse was badly beaten. There were cut all over his body and he was barely hanging on to his horse. "Are you okay?" asked Talim. However, she didn't receive an answer since the man was unconscious. 'Oh my! This man needs help', thought Talim as she grabbed the reigns of the horse and led it back to town.

Meanwhile, Auron had woken up due to Chun-Li and Dante's argument. Although he was somewhat annoyed by the rude awakening, he decided not to make a fuss about. He also noticed that Talim left. 'I hope she'll be alright by herself', thought Auron, but he figured that she could take care of herself and tried to go back to sleep. After a few minutes of trying and failing to go to sleep, Auron decided to drink a little out of his jug. However, Auron soon noticed that his jug was empty. Auron got up and was about to go to the bar to fill his jug when he heard frantic tapping on the door. When Auron opened the door, he saw Talim with a worried look on her face. Sitting on a horse behind her was a blond haired man in a green tunic who looked to be in fairly bad shape.

"Please Sir Auron, he needs help", pleaded Talim. Auron nodded his head and picked up the man from the horse with his good arm. "Get some blankets so we can set him a place on the floor", said Auron. Talim went back inside and gathered blankets as Auron had asked. Cloud, who was sleeping on the couch, woke up from Talim's rushed footsteps. "What's going on?" asked Cloud as he groggily got up from the couch. Before Talim could answer, Auron came in carrying the young man. "Good, you're awake", said Auron as the placed the man on the couch. "Who is he and where did he come from?" asked Cloud. Talim looked at Cloud and replied, "I don't know. I just had a dream and a weird feeling that led me to find him."

For a couple of hours, Auron, Cloud, and Talim watched the sleeping young man. After awhile, they heard a sound coming from him. "Did you hear that?" asked Talim. Auron nodded his head and Cloud replied, "Yeah, it sounded like he said 'Zelda'. I wonder who or what 'Zelda' is?" What they didn't know was that the young man reliving his memories of the past few days in his sleep.

_Flashback_

It all began that one night when he saw a large glowing rock headed towards the planet's surface and witnessed it suddenly shatter. The young man knew that this was a bad omen of sorts and immediately played his ocarina to summon his horse, Epona. He climbed up onto Epona and headed towards Hyrule Castle. Perhaps Princess Zelda would know what was going on.

When he reached Hyrule Castle the next morning, Princess Zelda was already waiting for him. "Link, I'm glad you have came", said Zelda, who was very relieved to see him. She then led Link to the castle courtyard and made all the guards leave so that no one would over hear them. "Listen Link," began Zelda, "I'm sure you have seen the crystals rain down from the sky last night, right? One of the guards found this in the courtyard." Zelda held out her hand to reveal a crystal. Link placed his hand next to the crystal and could feel power overflowing from it. "Link", said Zelda, "do you feel the power? If someone was able to harness its power, they could do many great things and many terrible things. Also, the crystal's power seems somewhat unstable and seems to have the ability to break through seals. I don't want to say this, but I'm afraid that Ganondorf's seal has been broken."

Link's mouth suddenly dropped open. He had defeated Ganondorf before, and through the combined efforts of Zelda and the sages, Ganondorf was sealed away forever. Or at least that was what Link thought, but if the seal was broken then Ganondorf could escape. Zelda continued, "I have sensed Ganondorf's presence ever since the crystals fell last night. I know he's back. However, I can no longer sense him. It seems that he might have left Hyrule. He is probably after the crystals. If that is the case, then he must be stopped. If he obtains enough of the crystals, he could obtain more power than he could even with the triforce. If that happens, then the whole world could be in danger." Then Zelda placed the crystal into Link's hands. "Take this", said Zelda, "and leave Hyrule as soon as you can. Hopefully, the crystal will lure Ganondorf to you. You must stop him, Link! The world is counting on you!" So, Link took the crystal, said goodbye to Zelda, and left Hyrule as fast as he could.

For several days, Link and Epona traveled throughout the world, crossing valleys, fields, and mountains. However, there was no sign of Ganondorf. Still, Link would not give up on his search. Link continued to ride on horse back and hardly ever stopped, not even to eat or sleep. However, the trip was beginning to take its toll on Link, and he soon realized that he probably should stop and rest for a while. Just as he started to search for a good campsite, Link noticed that the land around him looked kind of barren and tainted. He also began to feel an evil presence near by. In fact, it was a very familiar evil presence.

"It's been a long time, boy", said a voice from behind. Link turned around to see none other than Ganondorf standing behind him. Link quickly jumped off his horse and drew his sword and shield. Ganondorf just smirked and said, "Did you really think that I was gone for good? You're still too naïve." Link just glared at him. "You may have defeated me last time, but are you sure you can beat me again? If so, why don't you fight me and we will find out", challenged Ganondorf.

Accepting that challenge, Link charged at Ganondorf. However, Ganondorf teleported away from Link and started throwing balls of magic at him. Link turned around just in time to see the magical attacks coming and quickly switched to his mirror shield. The magic attacks were reflected back at Ganondorf and caused him to kneel down to the ground. Link ran up to Ganondorf and was about strike him down with his sword, when he suddenly felt chill in the air and a second evil presence.

Link slowly turned to see a mysterious cloaked figure. Link had no idea who it was, but he could tell that the cloaked figure had an evil aura. With sword in hand, Link ran towards the cloaked man, but a small group of small black creatures with glowing yellow eyes appeared between them. Link easily dispatched them one by one with a swing of his sword. Yet, with each creature he dispatched, another one replaced it. Still, Link forgot one thing as he battled the strange black creatures: Ganondorf.

Without warning, Link was blind sighted by a couple of magic attacks. Link soon found himself on the ground and in terrible pain. He barely had enough energy left to see Ganondorf back on his feet and standing next to the cloaked man. "Is this the boy who gave you so many problems? I don't see what's so special about him," said the cloaked man. "You shouldn't underestimate him. I did and I paid for that mistake," replied Ganondorf. The cloaked man just shook his head and said, "You were just careless. Anyways, the boy isn't much of a threat now. They can finish him off." The cloaked man pointed to the little black creatures and ordered them to attack Link. Before the creatures began their attack, the cloaked man picked up the crystal that link had dropped when Ganondorf had blasted him with magic. Then Ganondorf and the cloaked man began to walk away. Link tried to get back onto his feet to follow them, but he was too weak and could only watch as they disappeared into the distance.

Link quickly realized that he was surrounded by the little black creatures. Link tried to hold them off but there were too many of them and he was too weak. They were soon jumping and scratching at him. Fortunately, Epona ran to Link's side and reared up on its back legs to scare the creatures away. The creatures backed away long enough to give Link enough time to climb his way up onto Epona's back. Acting on instinct, Epona quickly ran towards the nearest town. Link held onto Epona's reigns tightly and tried to stay conscious. He had to survive this and fulfill his quest. If he failed, then Zelda and the rest of the world would be in danger. However, despite Link's will, everything began to fade to black.

_End Flashback_

After lying on the couch for a few hours, the young man slowly opened his eyes. "So, you're finally awake," said Auron, who was leaning on the wall opposite of the couch. "It's about time", muttered Cloud, who was sitting on the floor next to Auron and was half asleep. Then Talim approached the man and asked, "Who are you and where did you come from?" A few moments passed before the man said the word "Link". "Link? Is that your name?" asked Talim, and Link gave a nod of confirmation.

Just then, a pair of yawns was heard as Chun-Li and Dante walked into the room. "Who's this?" asked Chun-Li when she spotted Link on the couch. "His name is Link. I found him badly injured just outside the town," answered Talim. "So elf-boy, where the hell are you from?" asked Dante. When Link didn't answer, Dante asked, "You don't talk much, do you?" Link shook his head. "Whatever", snickered Dante. "Now Dante, be nice," scolded Chun-Li before she turned to Link and added, "Don't mind him. He tends to act rude like that." Then Chun-Li went into another room. When she came back, she was carrying a hyper potion. "Drink this and your wounds will be healed" said Chun-Li. Link drunk the potion and in a few minutes all of his wounds had disappeared and he was almost back to full strength.

"Thanks" muttered Link in an almost half whisper. "So, the elf-boy does speak after all," said Dante in a somewhat sarcastic tone. However, Link ignored the comment and started to head towards the door. "Hey, wait! Where are you going? If you want, you can come with us," said Talim. Link thought about Talim's offer, but ultimately decided against it. These people had saved his life and he didn't want them getting them involved with Ganondorf. So he silently shook his head and went out of the door. Talim was about to stop him when Auron place his hand of her shoulder and said, "Let him go Talim. I'm sure he had his reasons for not joining us." "I guess you're right," replied Talim, "but I can't help but think that there was a reason why I found him. It was as if destiny was guiding me." "If that is the case, then we will meet him again," said Auron. "You're right," replied Talim as she watched Link untie his horse, get up on its back, and ride off into the distance.

Meanwhile, in a forest far away from Auron and his group, Ganondorf and the cloaked man walked down a leaf-covered path. "The deeper we go into this forest, the darker it seems to become," observed Ganondorf. "It's simple, really. The darkness within the hearts of those we are about to meet have tainted the forest," replied his cloaked companion. Soon, the two figures found themselves entering a clearing where two other people were waiting. "Ah, Sephiroth, I have brought you the legendary sorcerer, Ganondorf," said the cloaked man. "What is it that you want from me?" asked Ganondorf. Sephiroth replied, "I wish to make an alliance. I have this small group of pests that need to be dealt with. Also, we can find more crystals at a faster pace if we combine our forces." "What is it that I get in return?" inquired Ganondorf. "I only need a few of these crystals to achieve my goal. You can have any that are left over," answered Sephiroth. Ganondorf thought about the preposition for a brief moment before saying, "Alright, I shall agree to this alliance for the time being."

Vergil was standing nearby as Ganondorf proclaimed allegiance. 'Yeah right,' thought Vergil, 'he's probably plotting to overthrow Sephiroth when the time is right just like I'm planning.' Still, a couple of questions raced through Vergil's mind. Who was the cloaked guy? It seemed as if the cloaked man and Sephiroth had met before. If so, then where and how did they meet? Also, Vergil couldn't help but feel as if Sephiroth was planning something. It was as if Vergil, Ganondorf, and maybe even the cloaked man were all puppets in Sephiroth's game. However, Vergil would still play the role of a pawn until he managed to get some answers.

_Characters in this chapter: Auron (FFX), Talim (Soul Calibur series), Chun-Li (Street Fighter series), Cloud (FF7), Sephiroth (FF7), Dante (DMC3), Vergil (DMC3), Link (Legend of Zelda: OoT), Ganondorf (Legend of Zelda: OoT), Zelda (Legend of Zelda: OoT)_

_As for the small black creatures and the cloaked man, their identities shall be revealed next chapter._


	10. Darkness and Heartless

_It seems that this site has a new feature that one can easily reply to signed reviews. It also seems I was right when I said that putting review responses in chapters was against the rules. Anyways, I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a while, but I've had a very hectic holiday, and I've also been busy with several other projects. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter and please review. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own any video games and any characters or elements from them._

**War of the Warriors: Crystals of the Sky**

**Chapter 10: Darkness and Heartless**

Auron, Talim, Chun-Li, Cloud, and Dante had left Jonin and were now past the castle that had visited only a short time ago. Before they left, Talim had told the others that she saw a vision in her crystal ball that there were several crystals past the mountains in the north. As they continued on, the land began to appear more barren, and Talim began to grow rather uneasy.

"I feel a dark wind in this area", murmured Talim. Dante overheard her and asked, "What's this talk about wind and stuff?" Talim replied, "In my village, we believed in wind spirits. In fact, not only was I trained to be a fortune teller but I was also a wind priestess in training." "Wind priestess? What's that?" asked Chun-Li, who listing to the conversation. "Well, a wind priestess is similar to a fortuneteller except that they have the ability to listen to voices in the wind," explained Talim. Chun-Li and Dante simply replied with an "oh".

As interesting as the conversation was, Auron's warrior instinct told him that an evil presence was near. Suddenly, a movement in some nearby bushes caught Auron's attention. "Everybody, get back!" shouted Auron. Talim, Chun-Li, and Dante snapped out of their conversation. Cloud, who already knew that something was amiss, had his sword in his hands and was in battle position. Auron pulled out his sword and slowly approached the bushes.

When Auron was within a foot of the bushes, a small black creature with glowing yellow eyes crawled out of them. Dante smirked and said, "Is that the thing you told us to get back from? I could beat that thing with my eyes closed and my hands tied behind my back." "Dante's right," agreed Chun-Li, "that little creature doesn't look dangerous. In fact, I think it's cute!" Talim, however, stared at the creature with suspicion. Even though it appeared harmless and even cute, she could sense the darkness and evil within it. Talim took a good look into the creature's eyes and noted how empty they seemed. It was as if the creature lacked a soul or even a heart. Cloud also didn't trust the creature and kept his guard up. Auron also kept his guard up. Since he was an experienced warrior, Auron knew that appearances can be deceiving.

Another reason why Auron kept his guard up was the fact that were in was quite rocky and had many places to hide. If there were more of those creatures, then they could sneak towards Auron and his allies and launch a surprise attack. If Auron and the others were caught off guard by an attack, then the consequences could be disastrous.

Sure enough, the sound of twigs snapping was heard and another small, black creature appeared from behind a nearby rock. Then another of said creature jumped on top of another rock. Suddenly, about ten more little black creatures appeared, and Auron and company were surrounded. "Damn, this isn't good", muttered Dante as he took out his pistols. "I agree. I had a feeling that there was something evil about them," said Cloud. "Me too," agreed Talim. "So, what are we going to do Auron?" asked Chun-Li, who was starting to get a little worried. Without turning around, Auron replied, "We should wait for them to make their move. When they do, we will counter."

Auron, Chun-Li, Talim, Dante, and Cloud stood in a circle with their backs facing each other. They stayed in a defensive position for several tense minutes. Meanwhile, even more of the little black creatures had crawled out their hiding spaces and were surrounding Auron's group. Suddenly, one of the creatures jumped up towards Talim to attack her. "Now!" shouted Auron, as everyone sprang into action.

Talim dodged the creature that attacked her and retaliated by whacking it with her tonfas. Then she kicked it hard against the wall. Soon the creature was unconscious and began to fade away. But Talim didn't have time to relax as she had to quickly block another attacking creature.

Meanwhile, Chun-Li was fighting off several of the little black creatures as well. They were starting to gang up against her but Chun-Li jumped away if they got to close. Then, a couple of the creatures jumped towards her, but she quickly unleashed a series of lightning fast kicks and sent them flying away. Chun-Li also managed to catch a creature in mid-air and threw it into the ground as hard as she could. Just when Chun-Li thought she had fought them all off, more creatures suddenly appeared. 'When will these things stop coming!' thought Chun-Li to herself.

While Chun-Li and Talim were struggling, Dante was having a field day. Using his sword, he slung a few of the creatures into the air. Then, Dante quickly switched to his pistols and quickly filled the creatures with bullets as they were falling down. Then Dante pointed his gun to behind him to shoot some creatures that trying to sneak up on him. Dante switched back to his sword and charged at the creatures while slashing at them like crazy. Then Dante jumped into the air, switched again to his pistols, and gave the creatures a shower of bullets. When he came back down to the ground, Dante smirked and smugly said, "That was a piece of cake. I was hoping for a challenge."

"Show-off," thought Cloud as he watched Dante in the corner of his eye. Cloud quickly turned his attention back to a couple of approaching creatures and dispatched them with a few swipes of his oversized sword. He had already slain about thirty of those little black creatures, and the tediousness of the battle was beginning to catch up to him. "Damn, how many of those things are left?" wondered Cloud out loud.

Auron had also slain many of the creatures without much effort. He positioned he sword and sent several of the creatures flying in a single swoop. Out of the corner of his eye, Auron noticed Talim struggling with the little black creatures. She was doing a fairly well job of holding them back and blocking their attacks, but she was out numbered. To make matters worse, a few of them were creeping up from behind her. Auron ran towards Talim and slayed the creatures behind her before they could attack. "Thanks, Auron", murmured Talim in appreciation. Auron didn't reply but had kept his eye on the creatures.

A few minutes later, all of the attacking creatures had either been defeated or had fled. Our heroes were now resting from the ordeal and were using potions to heal their wounds. They were still had no idea what those little, black creatures were, but they had won the battle. Still, Auron had a feeling that they had only experienced a portion of what was yet to come. Many questions lingered in his head. What were those creatures? Why they attack him and the others? Were the crystals somehow involved? Auron continued to contemplate these questions while the others rested.

Meanwhile, Link was a short distance North of Auron's group. He was currently hunting birds so he would have plenty of food and wouldn't starve to death or be in a weakened state if he faced Ganondorf again. His horse, Epona, was somewhere along the trail looking for something to eat. However, Link doubted that his horse would find anything suitable to graze on since they were in a mountainous area.

Link looked around at his surrounding and noticed that what little vegetation that grew there was either dead or dying. In fact, Link remembered seeing dying vegetation in other places he had traveled during the past few days. It was as if the planet was dying. 'I wonder if the crystals have anything to do with it', thought Link. Did someone evil get a hold of enough crystals to taint the land? Or were the crystals themselves draining the life away from the planet? Either way was bad news, but it would be even worse if it was the latter. At least Link would be able to deal with a villain like Ganondorf. However, if the crystals themselves were causing the decay of the planet, then it could potentially be harder to stop it. After all, there were thousands of crystals scattered around the planet and it would take forever to find them all.

Suddenly, Link's thoughts were interrupted by a strange sound. He turned around to see a familiar looking creature running towards him. After a few seconds, Link realized that the creature was the same type he encountered in his battle with Ganondorf and the cloaked man. As the creature approached, Link quickly drew his sword and shield. The creature lunged at him, but he blocked the attack. Then, Link retaliated and dispatched it with a few slashes of his sword.

After his tussle was over, Link looked toward the south, which was direction where the creature came from. Could Ganondorf or the cloaked man be there? Link needed to know for sure; so, he decided to head back there. He took out his orcarina and played a song to call Epona. Within a few seconds, Link heard a familiar neighing sound and saw Epona approaching from the distance. When Epona reached Link, he quickly jumped onto the horse's back and rode south as fast he could.

In a forest far away from both Link and Auron's group, Sephiroth, Vergil, Ganondorf, and the cloaked man were gazing at an image crated by the crystals. The image showed Auron and the others resting after their grueling battle with the creatures. "Looks like those creatures were useless", said Vergil to the cloaked man. The cloaked man just shook his head and replied, "Those 'creatures' you are referring to are known as the Heartless." "Heartless, eh? That's a menacing name for something so pathetic," murmured Vergil in a loud enough tone for the cloaked man to hear. "I purposely sent weaker ones to test this group of warriors. There are more powerful Heartless in existence," explained the cloaked man. Vergil simply muttered "Whatever" and walked away.

"So, is this really the group that gave you problems?" asked Ganondorf in a doubtful tone. "Yes, it is," confirmed Sephiroth. Ganondorf looked at the image of Auron's group again and replied, "Ha! I could probably beat them." "Is that so? Well then, why don't you prove it?" challenged Sephiroth. "Fine! Maybe I will!" shouted Ganondorf as he grabbed a few crystals and used them to create a portal. Before he could walk through the portal, the cloaked man said, "Wait, I'm coming too. I would like to see these warriors' skills for myself." "You can come if you want, but you must keep out of my way," replied Ganondorf, as he walked into the portal. The cloaked man soon followed and the portal closed after he disappeared. After Ganondorf and the cloaked man left, Sephiroth turned back to the hologram of Auron's group and thought, 'This should be an amusing show.'

Meanwhile, Auron and the others were getting ready to leave their resting place. At first, Chun-Li suggested that they stay and camp where they were, but Auron didn't agree. "If we stay here, whatever attacked us before might return," warned Auron. Chun-Li was about to protest, but Talim spoke up first and said, "I agree with Auron. It's not safe here." Dante rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever. If they do return, we could probably handle them." "I don't think so," replied Cloud, "because we are all still tired from the previous battle. We might be able to handle a second wave, but what if they keep attacking?" Auron added, "There should be a town on the other side of the mountain. We should rest there and continue with our journey tomorrow." Dante snickered but reluctantly agreed with Auron and Cloud. Chun-Li agreed with the others as well, and they all started heading north.

However, they had only moved a few feet when a sudden bright light blinded them. "What the hell!" shouted Dante in surprise. Dante, Talim Chun-Li, and Cloud put their hands in front of their faces in a futile attempt to block out the light. Fortunately for Auron, he was wearing shades. Auron quickly realized that the 'light' was actually a portal similar to the ones that Sephiroth and Vergil created. Two people slowly walked out of the portal and the portal closed behind them.

Auron took a good look at the two mysterious strangers. One had short red-orange hair and an evil smirk on his face. The other one was concealed in a cloak. Auron had a strange feeling about those two from the moment he first set eyes upon them. Talim also felt something strange about them. "Auron, I sense evil from both of them. I also sense that they have crystals with them", she whispered. Auron gave Talim a nod and quickly turned his attention back to the strangers.

"Who are you and what do you want?" asked Auron. The red-orange haired man chuckled and replied, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ganondorf, the one who shall soon become the ruler of the world!" Dante snickered and snapped, "Ruler of the world, eh? Do you really think you can beat us? I hate to tell you this, but you and your buddy are out numbered." "I can see that, but numbers don't always matter," replied Ganondorf.

While Dante and Ganondorf were exchanging insults, Auron kept an eye on the cloaked man. The cloaked man noticed that Auron was staring at him and said, "I see that you have potential to be a powerful warrior. You can become even stronger than you already are. All you have to do is to join forces with me and embrace the darkness!" "Do you really think I would join forces with you? Sorry but power doesn't interest me," answered Auron. The cloaked man chucked and replied, "Is that so? I beg to differ. You say that you are not interested in power, but deep down there is a part of you that says otherwise. Every heart has at least some darkness inside of it, and yours is no exception."

Auron didn't like where the conversation was headed, so he decided to change the subject. "Who are you! Reveal yourself now!" demanded Auron. "As you wish," replied the cloaked man as he began to take off his cloak. The cloak quickly dropped and revealed a man with long silver hair similar to Sephiroth's. Unlike Sephiroth, this man had yellow eyes instead of green, and his skin was tanner. "If you must know who I am, I'm known as Ansem," stated the man.

Before Auron could say anything, more of the little black creatures that his group fought earlier appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Everyone except Ansem and Ganondorf tensed up at the sight of the creatures and got into battle position. "I see that you recognize the Heartless," stated Ansem. "The Heartless?" asked Auron. "Yes, these creatures here are called that because they have no hearts of their own. Now, it's time to see if you are strong enough to face the power of darkness!" said Ansem as he and Ganondorf powered up.

There was no way that Auron and his group could back out of a fight now. This was not going to be an easy fight, especially since they were all still a little tired from their last encounter with the heartless. Auron was unsure exactly how powerful Ganondorf and Ansem were, but he had a feeling that they were both quite powerful. Still, the fact was that a battle was unavoidable and it was about to begin whether they were ready or not.

_Characters in this chapter: Auron (Final Fantasy X), Talim (Soul Calibur series), Chun-Li (Street Fighter series), Cloud (Final Fantasy 7), Sephiroth (Final Fantasy 7), Dante (Devil May Cry 3), Vergil (Devil May Cry 3), Link (Legend of Zelda: OoT), Ganondorf (Legend of Zelda: OoT), Ansem (Kingdom Hearts), The Heartless (Kingdom Hearts)_


End file.
